Odometer miles not working

Killa · Nov 15, 2009

I part my mustang for over 5 month, the battery went die, i put new batter, and now my edometer not working, and the gas MPG/Trip thing not working ether, i drove over 400miles, and they both still stay the same number. Any one have any ideal ? thanks

nyuk98gt · Nov 15, 2009

KillaGT:

in the '98, the speedo and odo are driven by the VSS (it generates an AC signal). It is possible that the VSS has failed or a wire on that harness has failed or the fuse has popped (not sure why but it is easy to check). The VSS is usually at 10 o'clock on the transmission as you look at it from the back of the car towards the front of the car.

HTH,

Chris

**edit: More correctly, the odometer is mechanical (driven gears) but the driving signal to the instrument panel comes from the VSS. Sorry for not being clear in my original reply.
** end of edit

wmburns · Nov 15, 2009

Odometer worm gear stripped

Not the VSS. If it was, the speedo wouldn't work as well.

This is a very common problem on the 1995-1998 Fords (not just Mustangs). The worm gear in the odometer did not get enough lube from the factory. It dries up and strips the tiny plastic gear inside the odometer.

There are MANY shops that specialize in Ford Odometer/speedometer repair. It should cost about $100 as a bench job. Likely $150-175 taking the car in.

For an example of a company that has done mine:

United Speedometer and Electrical > Home

I am sure an online search will yeild others (local and mail in).

If you ever think about selling the car, get the Odometer fixed before it can become an issue with any new possible buyer.

98GTfromGA · Nov 15, 2009

Here you go, http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/605742-pictorial-guide-odometer-gear-replacement.html

1987stangman · Nov 15, 2009

wmburns said:
Not the VSS. If it was, the speedo wouldn't work as well.

This is a very common problem on the 1996-1998 Fords (not just Mustangs). The worm gear in the odometer did not get enough lube from the factory. It dries up and strips the tiny plastic gear inside the odometer.

There are MANY shops that specialize in Ford Odometer/speedometer repair. It should cost about $100 as a bench job. Likely $150-175 taking the car in.

For an example of a company that has done mine:

United Speedometer and Electrical > Home

I am sure an online search will yeild others (local and mail in).

If you ever think about selling the car, get the Odometer fixed before it can become an issue with any new possible buyer.

+1 on that. Mine stoped working too nearly 2 weeks after I bought in Feb. Since I hit junk yards around here a lot I pulled a few instrument clusters apart and found that the gear it a plastic POS and all that I have found the gears just simply get brittle and break. Oddley enough, almost all of them have a good amount of lube on them. If your the DIY kind of guy, late model restoration supply sells a rebuild kit that is super easy (and I mean SUPER easy) to install.

odometer - LRS Search gear repair kit&vehicle=Mustang

Good luck!

Kilgore Trout · Nov 16, 2009

Wow, another common mustang problem I had not heard of. So many common problems... Pathetic...

nyuk98gt · Nov 16, 2009

wmburns:

Yes, you are correct *blush*. I got excited and did not read the post thoroughly. For sure, KillaGT's odo gear is shot. Good link posted by 98GTfromGA for the replacement work.

Kilgore Trout: LOL! Some pre-98 models did not get enough "green grease" and this caused the odo gear to wear faster than it should. The T-Bird crowd seemed to suffer from odo-gear-itis a bit more than us Mustang owners.

Chris

patman0911 · Nov 16, 2009

Meh, every model of car have common, annoying issues if they survive long enough on the road for anyone to care about them and to figure out what they are.

This same thing happened to me and a new gear fixed it right up.

Cars with mechanical odometers, be sure you're at a complete stop when you reset the trip odometer or you run the risk of shortening that gear's life or strip it out right there.

Killa · Nov 17, 2009

what kind of grease do i put on new gear ?

wmburns · Nov 17, 2009

A light white lithium grease should work well. IMO, it may be a good idea to clean the old grease so that different kinds of grease are not being mixed.

Note, a previous poster pointed out that their gear had stripped teeth even though it was apparently covered in grease. Note, the problem is not specifically with the worm gear not getting enough grease. It is also the driven gears not being lightly greased.

The driven gears dry out and increase the load on the worm gear. Over time, this leads to failure of the primary worm gear.

Obviously, you do not want to drown the other gears in grease. The worm gear is still the part that needs a liberal coating of grease.

soon2bmedic · Dec 18, 2009

Does anyone have a step by step guide to take out the old odometer and put in the new one?

FavreOnSunday · Dec 23, 2009

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Must...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

....fixed my odometer. My stock gears crumbled apart.

Instructions: Untitled Document

VeEight · Jun 21, 2010

Good Post!

I don't think my odometer gear failures had anything to do with inadequate grease. The driven gear had become brittle and the teeth crumbled off. If grease had anything to do with it, it is because the grease chemically attacks the gear plastic and makes it brittle...

My 98 Cobra had a black plastic driven gear and a white plastic worm gear. The worm gear was in excellent shape, but I replaced it anyway while I was in there. My driven gear failed at 77k miles.

I suspect that many of the driven gears were made of the wrong material in the first place.

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